Late Night With Pat
by spiderlillie
Summary: When Jay needs a place to go late one night he goes to the nearest (and least favorite) place: his dad's house.
1. Chapter 1

Random short set during the current season (5) towards the end. After seeking out information on Camila, an injured Jay winds up at the last place he wants to be at, his dad's house.  
They have some issues but in Med 2x20 they at least seemed to be able to put things aside and be there for each other even it's a bit begrudgingly.  
Also small warning for some swear words.

* * *

Pat Halstead had dozed off in his recliner watching the 10 o'clock news when he hears a knock at the door. It's not so much a knock as a soft pounding. Checking his watch he realize it's nearly midnight on a Monday, way too late for visitors. He's already pissed about this because whatever it is, it isn't good.

On his way to the door he grabs the baseball bat he's kept in the hall since the boys were small, his wife hadn't wanted a gun and he hadn't wanted them defenseless so they had met in the middle. It's perfect too, the lightweight metal has held up well over all these years. He's used it before to scare off rambling teenagers.

He peeps through the peephole just as there's another knock at the door. Jay. His head is turned looking back down the street, blowing out small puffs of air in the coldness. He swings open the door just as Jay is reaching for it again catching his son off guard.

"Oh, hey, dad." Jay turns his head as he speaks and Pat sees the blood dripping down the boy's head.

"Oh, hey, Jay." Pat mimics. "You need something?"

Jay bites his lip, annoyance already working it's way over his face. "Um well, not exactly, I was just wondering if maybe I could come in for a minute. I was on my way home and just needed a second, you know to catch my breath."

"You're bleeding." Pat says, blocking the door way.

"And clean the blood off." Jay finally says. Pat steps sideways and Jay comes in beside him. In the hallway light Pat can see his son better. His cheeks are pink and wind chapped, there's a gash on the left side of his head. Jay's ocean colored eyes trail down to the bat then back up to meet his dad's. "You, uh, plan on adding insult to injury?"

Pat shrugs and props the pat by the doorframe, closing and locking the door behind them. "You in some kind of trouble?"

"No. Believe me, I wouldn't bother you with my problems." Jay answers with a harsh tone.

"Alright smart ass, so you just came here to drip blood all over my floor?" Pat snaps back at his son. This mouth on him will be the death of both of them. Jay just rolls his eyes and stomps to the kitchen, the closest room with a sink. He's turns the faucet on and test it a few times before splashing water onto his face. He grabs a handful of paper towels and blots blinding at the gash in his head. "How about I call your brother?"

"No thanks," Jay responds, trying not to wince as he finds the open wound. "In fact I'll be out of your hair in a few minutes. Besides you don't care."

"I don't know why you come here in the middle of the night to be a smart ass after you got the shit knocked out of you already tonight, but why don't you just cool it? It's late, I'm trynna to sleep. If you need some medical attention how about you run on down to see Will?"

Jay sighs, leaning heavily on the counter after he shuts off the water. "I can't, he's working tonight."

"And?" Pat asks, watching Jay. The realization hits him, Jay's bloody head and ill mood. "You can't go to the hospital for one of two reasons, you are working something or you've done something you aren't suppose to."

"Little of both, maybe."

"Jay." Pat snaps.

"Look," He interjects. "You're not in any danger and I'm not, I just got knocked around tonight trying to find out some info on Ca-... this girl I used to know and it was stupid and I already regret it. But I couldn't drive because my head was hurting so bad and I can't go to Will at Med because my Sarge would probably find out, so how about this just stays between us, okay?"

Pat takes a few breaths still watching Jay. He staggers a little as he goes to all but collapse in a chair at the table. "Okay."

"Okay?" Jay repeats in his irritated tone.

"What do you want me to say? Stop being a little shit." Pat huffs, rolling his eyes. He thinks about sending Jay on his way but the way he looks right now, like he just wants to melt into the table and sleep, he can't just yet. "Look, I don't care what you're up or who's panties you're trying to get into but you really ought to get somebody to look at your head."

"I'm not trying to get into any one's panties." Jay frowns up at his dad, leaning back in the chair. "She was just a friend and she moved away awhile back and I had heard she had gotten into some trouble in her new place and I was just trying to help and... and I don't know why I'm telling you this. It doesn't matter, I'm good now. Thanks, I think I'll go home."

Pat thinks again about letting Jay get up and walk out. He could let him leave and it wouldn't be his problem, Jay's a grown man. But for just a second he looks so much like his mom it hurts. He grunts in frustration and slaps his hand down on Jay's shoulder forcing him back down into the chair. It elicits a hiss of pain from his son but he ignores it. "You gonna walk all the way across town in the middle of the night?"

"I can call an Uber or something." Jay grumbles.

"You didn't come here if you were just going to call a car to take you home." Pat tells him. "You came cause you're about to collapse from blood loss or head injury or something. So how about instead of bleeding to death on your way home and leaving me to blame, we do something."

"Like what? I already told you I'm not going to call Will." Jay argues.

Pat doesn't answer, he thinks this through. He could just drag Jay over to the sink and stick his head under the water till he washed out all the blood, but he figured Jay might think he was trying to drown him. He could just call Will anyways but Jay seems insistent not to do that. Finally he turns and goes to dig in the freezer for some unidentifiable frozen ziplock bag and hands it to Jay. "Just sit here for a second."

When he comes back with the first aid kit, Jay is still sitting right where he left him. He'd be lying if he hadn't half figured, half hoped Jay would already be gone. The seriousness of this sinks in with Jay sitting, waiting. He's folded the paper towel he had been using to wipe blood to make a thin layer between the frozen bag and his head. His arm is stretched out on the table in front of him and he's resting his cheek. Pat can't tell from this angle if he's got his eyes closed but the one thing he knows for sure is not to sneak up on a sleeping Jay.

"So uh," Pat begins coming around to sit in front of Jay. "you think you got a concussion?"

Jay doesn't lift his head but he shrugs a little. "I don't think so, no. I Googled it."

"So you are guessing whether or not you have a concussion based on the internet?" He opens his meager first aid kit and pulls out some rubbing alcohol. He pours a little on the bath cloth he brought with him and motions for Jay to move the freezer bag. It's his first good look at the wound hidden in Jay's hair, it's looks roughly three inches long but it doesn't look deep. Just a little cut in the skin. "What exactly hit you?"

Jay lets out a soft chuckle. "Guy, slung me into a handrail. I was more worried about twisting my knee when I fell but then I realized I was pouring blood from my head."

Pat doesn't respond just finally presses the cloth against Jay's dark hair. It always darkens in the winter months, has since he was a kid. Jay lets out a little squeak but doesn't move. When he pulls the cloth away after a few moments he's satisfied to see that between the ice and the rubbing alcohol the bleeding seems to have almost stopped completely. He unwraps a sticky gauze bandage and gently presses it down around the wound.

"We'll keep it covered for tonight and see what it looks like when it's daylight." Pat tells him standing up. "Alright, lets get some sleep."

Jay nods. "Thanks, I guess. Well I'll be on my way."

"Shit." Pat says. "You'll sleep here, couch. I can't have you wondering off and going into some sort of coma because the Google said you didn't have a concussion."

Jay rolls his eyes but doesn't leave. In the living room, he kicks of his boot and takes off his jacket and button down before lastly pulling his jeans off, leaving himself in boxers and t-shirt just as Pat comes back with a couple of blankets and two Tylenol. He hands Jay the tablets then tosses one of the blankets on the couch and keeps a hold of one as he settles into his recliner.

"Kinda figured you'd be going to bed." Jay tells him after he dry swallows the Tylenol then carefully lays back onto the couch.

"I gotta wake you up in what like an hour or something?" Pat responds. He's found his remote and starts trying to find the unmute button. "Make sure your brain is still in that hard head of yours."

"Google said two or three." Jay mumbles.

"We're not going by that." He answers back. "And I promise you, first time you don't make sense I'm calling your brother, I'll keep your silly little secret but I'm calling him. I'll come up with something."

"What are you going to tell him happened?"

"I got tired of listening to you talk and slapped you upside the head with that ball bat." Pat tells him.

Jay lets out a little snort of laughter but doesn't say another word. Pat finally unmutes the tv and tilts his head to get a good look at his youngest son settling.

 **End.**

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Note - I think now it's medically advised against cleaning wounds with rubbing alcohol, kinda like butter on burns, but I feel like Pat Halstead would be a man of old school methods and it won't necessarily harm you. Anyways just the odd note for anyone who may see it as a medical blunder.

Anyways thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

I hadn't planned on writing a second chapter but I had a lot of reviews hoping for one and I've been struggling with some other ideas so I went back to this one. Enjoy.

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Pat wakes up to a loud banging sound.

His first thought is Jay, he jumps forward in the recliner but his youngest son is still sleeping soundly on the couch. He doesn't even stir.

Neither one of them has slept much the last couple of hours, he had to keep waking Jay up and asking him a bunch of questions until he started getting smart ass answers. That ended that very quickly. Now Pat is faced with whatever woke him up, he pushes up out of his recliner and finds Will standing in the hallway staring at the baseball bat he knocked over.

"Geeze William, you want to slam the door again? You might could get your brother and the rest of Chicago to wake up." Pat grumps. He glances back to Jay who hasn't moved yet. It's starting to worry him how deep Jay is sleeping.

"It's 11am." Will sputters. "Why is there a bat in the hallway? And why is Jay..."

He trails off looking his sleeping brother over as he comes into the living room. The stark white bandage on his head. A couple of throw pillows are under his right knee, that's partially hidden by a blanket. "Did you do that?"

"You're brother is fine, I'm trying to figure out why you just came charging in my house like the apocalypse is coming." Pat answers him easing back into his recliner. He reaches over and taps Jay's foot a few times and is relieved when the boy finally stirs some.

"G' 'way." Jay mumbles. He shifts and tries to bury his face into the pillow.

"You didn't answer any of my questions." Will aims at his dad while he squats by the couch to look at the covered spot on Jay's head. "Did you do this?"

"Mmhm." Jay responds with a grin spreading across his cheeks. "Hit me."

"I'm going to hit you both in a minute." Pat says rolling his eyes. He's getting too old to not get enough sleep and deal with both his sons at once. "I did not do that, he fell."

"On what?" Will questions. Neither Pat nor Jay answer. Jay keeps his eyes close like he's went back to sleep and Pat starts looking for the tv remote. "Anybody want to explain what's going on?"

"No." Jay answers. "Go away, I'm sleeping."

"Dad?" Will presses.

"What now?" Pat answers annoyed. "You're brother is fine, I send one text asking you to bring one thing over and you lose your mind. You could have left it outside."

"What is he bringing over? And why did you text him?" Jay finally sits up. Annoyance on his face. "I'm fine."

"Everybody keeps saying the word fine, but I don't think you two understand what it means." Will snips. "So let's see it."

"See what?" Jay asks. He lifts a hand protectively towards the bandage on his head. His dad had checked it around 6am pulling the bandages back and looking it over, it wasn't so bad except it felt like he had pulled everything off down to the bone when he unstuck it. But that's also when they realized how messed up Jay's knee was, he knew he had fell on it odd but when his head had started bleeding he hadn't even really thought about it. Until he woke up to it swollen and stiff.

Pat sighs. "You're knee. I asked Will to bring something over to wrap it and clearly he plans on staying to play doctor, so just let him have his moment."

Jay scoffs and lays back dramatically, pulling the covers off. "Whatever."

It's scraped, swollen, and a deep bruise has already formed. Even Pat squints at it, definitely looking worse than the way it looked a few hours ago.

"How are you even walking on that?" Will asks, moving down so he can look at it.

"Carefully." Jay answers with an eye roll . As Will leans forward to touch it he can see Jay bite his lip. He doesn't bother asking his younger brother if it hurts as he feels around the kneecap, above and below for broken bones, he can tell in the frown on his face it does. Jay shifts a little when Will is finally done prodding his knee.

"You should go to Med." Will tells him. Looking to his dad for backup but only getting ignored. "It doesn't feel broken but it's definitely swollen."

"It's fine, Will. I promise." Jay tries dropping the annoyance and going for his defeated puppy eyes at his older brother. "I'm just give out, okay? Dad's just being dramatic because he did this."

"I did?" Pat echos glaring daggers at being drawn back into this.

Jay smiles a little sitting up, he ignores his dad's comment. If he wants to bring Will into this than it can be his fault. "I fell off a ladder helping him, it's fine though totally. It doesn't hurt that much. I'm just a little stiff and tired, but sleeping in will fix that much better than Med can."

Will thinks it over and finally with a sigh lets it go. "Do you want me to wrap it for you at least?"

"Nope. I can do it." Jay tells him, driving home his 'fine' point. "I'm just going to get up, get something to eat real quick, and I'll wrap it before I go back to sleep."

"I can get it for you." Will offers.

Jay waves him off, getting off the couch. He has a slow uneven gate but manages. "I'm fine. Just sit down."

Will sits on the end of the couch by his dad. Pat only acknowledges him with a glance before staring back at the TV. "So what was Jay doing on a ladder for you?"

"Suddenly you interested in home repair?" Pat asks bluntly. "Don't really seem like your thing."

"And it's Jay?" Will counters. "You two don't even talk most of the time."

Pat blinks. "What does it matter? It wasn't like I kicked your brother. He's fine."

Will bites his lip and gives up. Or would have. There's a stumbling sound from the other room, a thud, and then Jay swears.

"He's fine though, right?" Will asks staring at his dad.

Pat stares back at him, chewing this over in his mind. Kid can't walk, even if his head is fine, that knee is not something he wants to wait around on. He finally sighs and rolls his eyes. As he stands up he snatches Jay's truck keys that were discarded on an end table. "I think his truck is about two blocks away. Go pull it around and we'll take him to Med if I have to drag him outside."

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"Just a reminder, I hate you both." Jay tells them as he lays on the gurney in a room at the Emergency Department. He's been silently playing on his phone since they settled in him after the exam. He had pretty much lost all of his argument earlier. Now he's just tired and annoyed and hurting a little.

In the time it had took for Will to find Jay's truck and drive it back around, Pat had gotten Jay off the floor, realized there wasn't a way to get his jeans back over his knee, found a pair of sweatpants, got him mostly dressed and a jacket back on him, then spent the rest of the time arguing with him about it.

"Great." Pat says. "Not exactly how I planned my day either come to think of it."

"You can't even walk right now." Will interjects looking over at his brother. His tone is a mix on amusement and surprise which earns him a glare from Jay.

"I could it I had too," Jay responds, placing his phone beside him and pushing up on his elbows. "It just kinda hurts too."

"Maybe I'll get them to do that weight bearing x-ray again and see how that goes for you." Will answers. Pat eyes them both ending wherever argument that was about to get going again. They sit in silence for a few more minutes before Conner Rhodes comes back in with Jay's chart as well as the MRI sheet and X-Rays they had done. He hesitates for a minute already feeling the tension between the Halstead men.

"What's it looking like?" Will asks, standing up to review the images.

Conner points to one spot in particular. "Nothing is broken or torn, which is obviously good news. However, that pocket right there is definitely a fluid build up."

"What does that mean?" Jay questions from where he lays. He was just figuring on a bad internal bruise and even if Dr. Rhodes had just said he had good news that didn't mean there wasn't some bad news to go along with it.

"Looking like prepatellar bursitis. Basically when you fell off the ladder at your dad's, the impact to your kneecap it caused the existing bursae fluid to swell. Joints have fluid pockets naturally to kinda protect them and when there's an injury sometimes they over produce fluid to keep it from further damage. It's why your knee is so stiff. It's so much fluid and bruising it's keeping it from moving the joint properly."

"Well hell, Jay." Pat mutters. "I thought only people my age got bursitis."

Jay closes his eyes to keep from rolling them and finally sighs. "So what can you do?"

"One of two things." Dr. Rhodes tells him, sitting in the chair Will vacated to be on level with Jay. "Option one is you wait it out. We can give you something to help the swelling go down and give you something that will help with the pain. But you are going to have to stay off of it completely. Option two is I draw as much of the unnecessary fluid out today to relieve some of the pressure. You'll still have to be careful on it but it'll feel better and probably be able to get around some on it."

"Could I go back to work tomorrow?" He asks. "If you draw the fluid off?"

"I wouldn't recommended it unless you can sit at your desk all day with your knee propped up." Conner tells him, glancing to Will. There's a silent agreement from him that he'll keep Jay at home for a few days.

"But I would probably be able to get up and get around better?" Jay pushes.

Conner nods. "You'll still need to take it easy on it, but yeah, you will probably be able to at least bend it and move around on it."

"Cool. Let's do that."

\\\\\

It didn't take long in the prepping for Pat to figure out that Jay was rethinking this. Even though needles didn't bother him, even Pat couldn't help but cringe at the thought of the needle going inside a knee and sucking stuff back out. Jay had started squirming some while Maggie cleaned off his knee to prep it.

"You okay, Jay?" She finally asks. There's a frown of concern that crosses her face. She had been in the ER the afternoon that Jay had been brought in a couple years ago after the Keyes case. In his short hospital stay, they had become fast friends and she felt a little protective of Will's younger brother. Especially because she's starting to see the nervousness in his eyes.

"Oh, yeah, I'm good." He tells her but his breathing is a little heavy. He also keeps curling fists into the blankets and letting go. "Just didn't get much sleep and kinda stressed out about this and some other stuff."

"If you'd rather wait, we can." She responds.

"Nah, we just need to go on and get this over with." He tells her. But his voice betrays him. It shakes a little and he's still breathing hard.

Maggie pats his arm. "How about I get Dr. Rhodes to order you a little procedural sedation before he gets started?"

"That probably wouldn't be a bad idea." Jay agrees drawing a raised eyebrow from his dad.

Pat waits till the head nurse leaves before finally questioning his son further, the way he should have done last night. "You in some kind of trouble?"

"Nope. Why do you ask?" Jay asks trying to play it cool. He had tried to insist he go get coffee with Will before Maggie came but his dad hadn't budged and now he's really wishing he had. Because he feels like he's going to have a panic attack. Between the lack of sleep, the injuries, the worry, having his dad around, everything feels unsettled.

"Cause you're white as a sheet and breathing like you just ran a marathon." Pat answers narrowing his eyes.

Jay sighs, trying his hardest to slow his breathing down. "Am not."

"That the best you got?" Pat questions and he can see Jay's face fall a little. The resistance dropping away. "If you're in trouble, we at least got to be on the same page."

"I went to check on some information about this girl, her name was Camila. When I went around her old neighborhood some guy didn't take to well to me asking questions because they know I'm a cop now. It's a long messed up story. But if my Sarge finds out, he's going to stick me back on desk duty or maybe send me back downstairs and I can't let that happen." Jay tells his dad, the truth spilling out in his nervousness.

Pat nods. "So just stick with what you told Will. You fell off a ladder at my house. Leave it at that. I'm going to back you up on it. Stop stressing about this, you're going to give yourself a heart attack. And trust me, those ain't fun."

"Why are you being nice to me?" Jay asks suddenly, a deep frown etching into his face along with the worry.

Pat rolls his eyes and prepares his answer but before he can Maggie comes back. She has a small tube in her hand and gently talks to Jay as she sprays the dose of Midazolam up his nose for the quick sedation, he makes a little bit of a face, but it starts working within minutes. His dad doesn't answer the question. Jay's eyes grow heavy and his mind goes blank as he keeps an eye on his dad, wondering why.

\\\\\

"You feelin' okay?" Pat asks. They had made it back to Jay and Will's apartment just a little while ago and settled Jay in his bed. Knee propped up and wrapped neatly from the hospital. They had also but put a fresh bandage on the scrape on his forehead. Will had went to take a quick shower and Pat had decided he would sit with Jay for a few minutes of alone time.

Jay can only nod in response to his dad's question. He's still groggy and has the buzzing numbness for the medications they had given him for the procedure and after to keep him comfortable during the ride home. He's awake mostly but he's definitely still a little out of it.

"You probably won't really remember much of this talk we're about to have and that's okay." Pat tells him watching his youngest son, the one that reminds him the most of the wife he lost so long ago. Jay just shrugs, right now he probably couldn't even spell his own name with that lost look in his blue eyes. But he's still trying to track what's being said to him. "I'm glad you came to my house last night. I know it ain't going to be a big bandaid for both of us, we still got a lot of hurt on both our sides. But I don't know, I couldn't turn you away because I knew your mama would be ashamed of me if I did. I can't stand the thought of that. So maybe we still got problems but I'm not ever going to turn you away. You need help, you come to me. You got that?"

He thinks Jay mumbles out a yes sir and that's good enough for him.

 **End.**

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Thank you all for reading!

Update - Fixed the Colin/Conner. Sorry y'all I try to be as careful as possible but that one did slip by me.  
Also there was a review about how Jay isn't the youngest, I went back and double checked though and while it seems to be a little unclear most seem to think that he is. So I'm just going to stick with him being the youngest for now.


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